Steven Hinton Won the Unlimited Gold Race at Roswell at Four Hundred and Thirty Two Miles an Hour
Hinton also won the Unlimited Silver race in a different Mustang the same afternoon, while Jason Googe took the Jet Gold after failing to qualify.
Steven Hinton won the Unlimited Gold race at the National Championship Air Races at Roswell Air Center in New Mexico on 20 September 2026, flying the P-51D Mustang Bardahl Special at an average of 432.897mph over eight laps of the 10.3 mile course.
Brent Hisey was second in the P-51D Miss America at 388.541mph and Stephen Koewler third in a Sea Fury at 373.315mph, according to the official results. Hinton had also qualified fastest at 497.473mph and won both of his heats.
Hinton had an even busier Sunday than that. Earlier in the afternoon he won the Unlimited Silver race in a different P-51D, Wee Willy II, at 337.985mph, beating Steven Coutches by about three miles an hour.
The Jet Gold produced a comeback. Jason Googe, who did not qualify for the class and did not start his first heat, won the final in the L-29 Arcangel at 495.908mph, holding off Bob McCormack, the fastest qualifier, in the L-29C Athena at 491.824mph. Jive Kerby was third in the L-39C Ivan.
The championships ran from 16 to 20 September with seven classes of aircraft. Full results for the Formula One, Biplane, Sport and T-6 classes were published alongside the Jet and Unlimited reports by the Reno Air Racing Association.